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Sunday January 20, 2013 9:23 AM

Identity theft is the type of crime that’s easy to dismiss. Until it happens to you.

But then you get a notice from the Internal Revenue Service saying that
your return has been rejected. You won’t be getting a refund because it already has been claimed.
You’ve become a victim of identity theft. Now, identity theft becomes very real. And it’s getting
frustratingly real for a growing number of taxpayers.

Typically, an identity thief will steal someone’s personal information, including
his or her Social Security number, and file a bogus return claiming a refund. This is often done
early in the tax season, before most people have a chance to file their legitimate
returns. “In some situations, fraudulent filings may cause us to initiate an adverse enforcement
action against the innocent taxpayer until we are able to confirm that someone else has used his or
her information,” the IRS said in written testimony submitted to the House of Representatives.

When defrauded taxpayers aren’t getting the help they need from the IRS, they can
turn to the Taxpayer Advocate Service. From 2008 to 2012, the number of tax-related identity-theft
cases the service handled increased 666 percent, according to the latest report to Congress from
national taxpayer-advocate Nina Olson.

The IRS says the growth of identity-theft cases has challenged the agency. From
2011 to 2012, it has doubled to 3,000 the number of employees working on them, said Terry Lemons, a
senior spokesman for the IRS.

“We know it’s frustrating to folks, but it’s frustrating to us too,” he said. “
Across the IRS we are doing everything we can to tackle the issue and help the victims
as quick as we can. We’ve taken aggressive steps to go after the perpetrators.”

The IRS has created a special identification number to authenticate that a return
belongs to a legitimate taxpayer. For filing season 2012, the agency issued an Identity Protection
Personal Identification Number to about 250,000 taxpayers. For this year’s filing season, the
program is expanding to more than 600,000 taxpayers.

The IRS has created on its website (
www.irs.gov ) a section devoted to identity theft. There is also
a dedicated telephone line. You can reach the IRS Identity Protection Specialized Unit at
1-800-908-4490.

If your return is rejected, contact the IRS immediately.

As challenging as I’m sure this issue is for the IRS, it’s more so for the poor
folks who are victimized. I hope the agency continues to make its fight against identity theft a
top priority.